WAR FROM A HARLOTS MOUTH “VOYEUR” ALBUM REVIEW

I have had a crazy amount of respect for WFAHM for quite some time. They have mastered something that is seems almost unheard of in metal…they have progressed tremendously as a band but still maintain a shockingly accurate depiction of who WFAHM was when they first started grinding. I use this word a lot but it is so so very appropriate now…RAW. Raw, raw, raw. They have been raw and continue to be raw. WFAHM’s full length “Voyeur” holds close to the grind/sludge/cave-core roots of these Berlin natives while keeping it fresh-2-death…emphasis on death :)

To first time listeners of WFAHM, “Voyeur” might cause thoughts like, “Ooooh THIS is where that real shit went!” and “Oh yeah now I remember why I listen to metal.” “Voyeur” uplifted nostalgia in me of some of my first metal endeavors. The production features a guitar tone that sounds so real I want to reach in my ears and grab it. The 8-strings just drone out to no end, like a bottomless pit. Take a look at the album artwork…it translates accurately the tone of all the instruments…dark, gritty, sludgey I feel like I’m describing Shrek’s ass crack, but there is another element that WFAHM has that Shrek doesn’t…evil.

“Voyeur” is dank ride front to back. Some may overlook the intro “Origin” but it’s a dark tone setter that rushes into“Vertigo,” a pissed off barrage of blast beats and chugs which then unnoticeably slams into another track cleverly named “H(a)unted.” I must have hit rewind on the first 30 seconds of “Vertigo” twenty times before continuing deeper into “Voyeur.” Hey, speaking of deep…the bass guitar. Rumbles galore are ever present and its cool as hell! The more I think about “Voyeur” the more I love it.

WFAHM has that signature sound that can be easily identified by people familiar with the name. This unique style is upheld by drummer Paule Seidel and vocalist Nico Webers. It must be something in Berlin’s water that makes these guys sound like this. Its like a giant sandpaper factory….the factory representing the drums; a coal powered un-oiled machine that never stops grinding, while the sandpaper is Nico’s straining vocal chords which are in constant battle, attempting to defile other vocalists. Together they are a loud dirty factory hidden under polluted black smog; the type of smog that blocks out the sun and turns once thriving German villages into rotten ghost towns. I don’t know about you but that sounds like the place where I wanna be!!!

“Catacombae” is my highlight track. I choose this because it’s a heavy reward for those who can survive “Voyeur’s” brutality to the end of the album. And for listeners of “Voyeur” if you like what you hear I encourage to take a trip down WFAHM’s memory lane and discover what set them ahead originally. Interesting jazzy breaks, one minute songs with long ass names, and the infamous machine gun breakdown from the track “If You Want to Blame Us for Something Wrong, Please Abuse this Song”

Cool Fact– For those who don’t know, voyeur means someone who gains extreme pleasure from watching others have sexual intercourse while hidden, like a peeping-tom or something.